Bat balancer

ABSTRACT

A bat balancer comprising a frustoconically shaped weight sleeve member which is adapted to be slid onto a baseball bat from the knob end thereof. The bat balancer adds weight to a bat but maintains the balance of the bat by adding an equal amount of weight above and below the balance point of the bat.

ilited States atent 72] Inventor Leon A. Lande 1054 Riverbank, Lincoln Park, Mich.

[21] Appl. No. 9,839

[22] Filed Feb. 9, 1970 [45] Patented Nov. 30, 1971 [54] BAT BALANCER 9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 273/26 B. 273/72 [51] 1nt.Cl A63d 15/10 [50] Field of Search 273/26 R.

67 DA, 67 DB, 72; 128/165. 156. 80. 8|

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,608,409 8/1952 Pinkerton 273/26 B 3.521.883 7/1970 Hamilton 273/26 B 250L565 3/1921 Halley. 128/165 Primary Examiner-Anton O Oeehsle Assistant 'Examiner- Theatrice Brown Attorney-Donnell Mentag and Harrington ABSTRACT: A bat balancer comprising a frustoconically shaped weight sleeve member which is adapted to be slid onto a baseball bat from the knob end thereof. The bat balancer adds weight to a bat but maintains the balance of the bat by adding an equal amount of weight above and below the balance point of the bat.

PAIENIED Novsmsn 1623724 1 INVENTOR.

[eon C2. Lana e AT TORNE Y5 BAT BALANCER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to the baseball bat art, and more particularly, to a bat balancer for a baseball bat for use in improving the batting ability of a batter.

Heretofore various devices have been provided for adding weight to a baseball bat so that a batter could swing a bat with added weight for a short period of time so that the regular bat would seem to be lighter when it is swung immediately after swinging the heavier weighted bat. A disadvantage of some of the prior art weighted bat constructions is that a special bat is required, whereby the batter does not get the same feeling at the handle end of the bat when he changes from the weighted special bat to his regular bat. A further disadvantage of some of the weighted prior art baseball bats is that the weight is inserted into the barrel end of the bat, and when the barrel end of the bat is over-weighted, it is difficult to swing the bat on a level plane, and this action results in an unnatural swing. The weight added to the barrel end of the bat tends to pull the bat forward because of the greater centrifugal force which is generated when swinging such a bat. A further disadvantage of another type prior art weight addition to a regular bat, wherein a donut type weight is slidably mounted on the barrel end of a bat, is that it is subject to being accidentally discharged from the bat when the bat is swung. A further disadvantage of the last mentioned type of weight for a bat is that it is apt to be lost or misplaced. In view of the foregoing, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved bat balancer, for adding weight and balance to a bat for practice purposes, which is adapted to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art devices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved bat balancer for not only adding weight to a bat but also to maintain its balance. The bat balancer comprises a frustoconically shaped sleeve member which is adapted to be slipped over the bat, from the knob end thereof, and to be seated on the barrel end of the bat at a point where an equal amount of weight is added above and below the balance point of the bat, so that the bat balance is similar to the balance of the bat before the bat balancer is added.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved bat balancer which can be quickly and easily slipped onto a bat to provide a similar balance to the bat as when used in competition, whereby the batter will maintain the same type of swing during a warm-up session. The bat balancer provides a balances bat so that there is less of a tendency to develop bad batting habits when swinging a warm-up bat.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an improved bat balancer which is simple and compact in construction, economical to manufacture, and efficient in use.

Other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, appended claims, and the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a baseball bat provided with a bat balancer made in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the bat balancer illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the large end of the bat balancer illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along the line 33 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view of the small end of the bat balancer illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along the line 4-4 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 5-5 thereof, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing, and in particular, to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 designates a conventional baseball bat on which has been slidably mounted a bat balancer 11 made in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The bat balancer I1 is a frustoconically shaped sleeve member which has a frustoconically shaped bore formed therethrough. Therefore, the center of gravity of the balancer 11 is located along the center axis thereof. In FIGS. 1 through 3, the numeral l3 designates the large end of the bat balancer 11. In

FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the numeral 14 designates the small end of the bat balancer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the bat balancer 11, as shown, has an inner bore with a nonadjustable diameter along its length and is slid over the knob end, or smaller end of the bat 10, until it is frictionally seated in engagement with the bat 10 toward the barrel end thereof. The numeral 12 in FIG. 1 designates the center of weight or balance point of the bat. The bat balancer 11 is formed so that an equal amount of weight of the bat balancer is added to the bat 10 above and below the balance point 12. In other words, the center of gravity of the balancer or sleeve member 11 is disposed at substantially the same location as the center of gravity of the bat 10 so that the bat 10 remains balanced around its center of gravity and the natural swing of the bat then will be substantially unchanged. That is, weight of the bat is thus increased but the bat balance is similar to the bat without the balancer 11. The center of weight or balance point 12 of the bat 10 is usually about eleven or twelve inches from the barrel end of the bat.

The bat balancer 11 is made with a constant thickness wall throughout the entire length thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the bat balancer 11 is provided with a pair of slits 15 which extend longitudinally of the balancer 11 from the small end 14 thereof. The slits 15 extend through the wall of the sleeve member which comprises the balancer ll. The length of the slits 15 is about one-third of the length of the balancer 11. The small end 14 of the sleeve member of the balancer 11 is provided with slits 15 to permit the balancer 11 to be sufficiently flexible to be slid over the knob end of the bat, which normally is Z-lfiinches diameter. This knob size is the maximum size of the knob presently used on baseball bats. The balancer 11 could function with one slit, but two or three slits are preferably. The illustrative embodiment shows the use of two slits in FIG. 4.

The bat balancer 11 may be constructed of a suitable flexible material, as for example, a suitable plastic or rubber which is sufficiently flexible to adjust readily to the varying diameters of a bat. The material used should not mark or scratch the wood to which it is attached. The bat balancer 11 is slid over the bat toward the barrel end until it seats in position and is held in such position by a friction grip.

The larger end 13 of the balancer ll in one embodiment measured approximately 2%inch in outer diameter and graduated in outer diameter to about lhinch on the smaller end 14. The wall of the balancer sleeve member was about iinch in thickness. The thickness of the balancer sleeve member wall should be relatively uniform throughout the length thereof, but it could vary in some degree in thickness, so long as when the balancer 11 is mounted on the bat, an equal amount of weight is added and distributed above and below the balance point 12 on the bat 10. The thickness of the balancer sleeve wall would vary in accordance with the flexibility of the material is used to make the balancer 11.

It will be seen that the bat balancer 11 functions to not only add weight to a hat, but that it also maintains the balance of a bat. A batter normally swings a number of bats, or a heavier bat than the usual bat, before taking his batting turn at the plate in a baseball game. It will be seen that by swinging a regular bat which has a balance similar to the balance when hitting in the regular game, the batter will have more of a change to maintain the same swing at all times. When a bat is made heavier, as caused by adding weight on the extreme barrel end of a bat, the tendency is to drop the barrel end of the bat as opposed to swinging the bat on a more level plane. By swinging a balanced bat provided with a bat balancer 1 1 made in accordance with the principles of the present invention, there is less change to develop bad habits as when swinging an unbalanced bat.

The bat balancer ll of the present invention is preferably made to a length of approximately 12 inches, and the amount of centrifugal force in swinging the bat is lessened to a much greater degree than when the weight is concentrated at a point near the barrel end of the bat. The bat balancer 11 could be approximately two pounds in weight so that when the balancer 11 is added to a bat the bat will be similar in weight to that of two bats. By swinging a bat provided with a bat balancer l 1 for a short period of time, the regular bat will give the sensation of being lighter, that is, if a regular bat is swung immediately after swinging a heavier bat. The bat balancer 11 can be used for the purpose of developing the batting muscles and the muscle control necessary for proper hitting. This can be accomplished by using a bat provided with a balancer 11 as an exerciser for a period of time during the off-baseball season, as well as during the baseball season.

It has been found that there is less change of injury when using a bat balancer 11 as compared to the prior art devices because the material from which the bat balancer 11 is made is more flexible and also because of its construction. The bat balancer 11 has a large gripping surface and cannot fly of a bat when it is being swung. The bat balancer 11 is less apt to be lost or stolen because of its size. It is apt to be more durable since it is made of a single material as compared with the prior art devices which employ a combination of plastic and metal materials. It is a good exerciser for baseball players because a natural swing can be maintained during a batting exercise.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation and change.

I claim:

1. In a training device used in combination with a ball bat,

the improvement comprising:

a. a sleeve member having an inner bore through which a ball bat may be frictionally engaged and having a center of gravity located long the center axis thereof,

. said inner bore having a nonadjustable diameter along its length,

c. said diameter being related to the increasing diameter of the bat so as to seat the sleeve member at a location along said bat whereby the center of gravity of the sleeve member is disposed at substantially the same location as the center of gravity of the bat so that the bat remains balanced around its center of gravity and the natural swing of the bat will be substantially unchanged.

2. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped.

3. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped and has a frustoconically shaped bore formed therethrough.

4. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped and has a constant wall thickness throughout its length.

5. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is made from a flexible material and is held in place by a friction grip on the bat.

6. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is made from a flexible material and is provided with at least one longitudinally extended slit which extends through the wall thereof, from the smaller end thereof and toward the larger end thereof.

7. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped and is composed of a flexible material selected from the group consisting of rubber and plastic.

8. In a training device as defined in claim 7 wherein said flexible material is composed of rubber.

9. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is elongated and has a distributed weight equally divided on each side of the natural balance point of the unweighted bat. 

1. In a training device used in combination with a ball bat, the improvement comprising: a. a sleeve member having an inner bore through which a ball bat may be frictionally engaged and having a center of gravity located along the center axis thereof, b. said inner bore having a nonadjustable diameter along its length, c. said diameter being related to the increasing diameter of the bat so as to seat the sleeve member at a location along said bat whereby the center of gravity of the sleeve member is disposed at substantially the same location as the center of gravity of the bat so that the bat remains balanced around its center of gravity and the natural swing of the bat wilL be substantially unchanged.
 2. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped.
 3. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped and has a frustoconically shaped bore formed therethrough.
 4. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped and has a constant wall thickness throughout its length.
 5. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is made from a flexible material and is held in place by a friction grip on the bat.
 6. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is made from a flexible material and is provided with at least one longitudinally extended slit which extends through the wall thereof, from the smaller end thereof and toward the larger end thereof.
 7. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is frustoconically shaped and is composed of a flexible material selected from the group consisting of rubber and plastic.
 8. In a training device as defined in claim 7 wherein said flexible material is composed of rubber.
 9. In a training device as defined in claim 1 wherein said sleeve member is elongated and has a distributed weight equally divided on each side of the natural balance point of the unweighted bat. 